[lit. rare + highest, foremost, perfect]
Biblical: God, the infinite, eternal Spirit who created the world: dkon mchog gis nam mkha' dang sa bkod do/ God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), dkon mchog gi sras/ the Son of God (Mt. 4:3), dkon mchog gi thugs nyid/ the Spirit of God (Mt. 3:16), bla na med pa'i dkon mchog the Most High God (Mk. 5:7,8), yis ra el gyi dkon mchog the God of Israel (Lk. 1:68), dkon mchog yab/ God the Father (Jn. 6:27), dkon mchog gi lug gu/ the Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29), dkon mchog gi dam pa/ the Holy One of God (Jn. 6:69), thog ma med pa'i dkon mchog the eternal God (Rom. 16:26), ab ra ham dang /,,i sag dang /,,ya kob kyi dkon mchog the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Acts 3:13), dkon mchog gson po/ the living God (Mt. 16:16). Christian use of the term dkon mchog for God extends back at least to 1762 (ATM). Special uses of the term in the Bib. include: 1) an indefinite noun that may include God and another god: yang gang dkon mchog des me las lan 'debs pa/ the god who answers by fire - he is God (1 Ki. 18:24), rgyus med pa'i dkon mchog an unknown god (Acts 17:23); 2) a metaphor for a powerful man: dkon mchog ni nga rang ste/ "I am a god" (Eze. 28:2); 3) a value prized above all: de tsho'i dkon mchog grod pa yin/ their god is their stomach (Phil. 3:19); 4) spiritual beings: khyed kyi bka' khrims nang khyed rnams dkon mchog yin ngas smras/,,zhes bris mi 'dug gam/ is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods' (Jn. 10:34).
Common Phrases: dkon mchog gi bka'/ the word of God (Mt. 15:6), dkon mchog gi rgyal srid/ the kingdom of God (Mt. 19:24), dkon mchog gi mthu stobs/ the power of God (Mk. 12:24), dkon mchog gi thugs rje/ the grace of God (Lk. 2:40), dkon mchog gi gnang sbyin/ the gift of God (Jn. 4:10), dkon mchog gi dpal/ God's glory (Jn. 11:4), dkon mchog la 'jigs/ God-fearing (Acts 10:2), dkon mchog gi dgongs pa/ the will of God (Acts 20:26,27), dkon mchog gi thugs khro/ the wrath of God (Rom. 1:18), dkon mchog gi byams pa/ the love of God (Rom. 8:39), dkon mchog gi mkhyen rab/ the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:21), dkon mchog gi drung du/ in the presence of God (Lk. 1:19), dkon mchog gi spyan/ in God's sight (2 Cor. 4:2), dkon mchog gi zhabs tog servants of God (2 Cor. 6:4), dkon mchog gi phrin bzang / the gospel of God (2 Cor. 11:7), dkon mchog gi pho brang / the house of God (Mt. 12:4), dkon mchog gi bzhugs khri/ God's throne (Mt. 23:22), dkon mchog gi ye shes/ the knowledge of God (Rom. 11:33), dkon mchog gi sras/ sons of God (Mt. 5:9).
Buddhist: 1) In folk Bsm. dkon mchog is a powerful, supernatural, impersonal being to whom prayers are often addressed: rgyal srid skyong bar sras nges par du dgos par brten rgyal po zas gtsang gis yar dkon mchog mchod pa phul/ to make certain of having a son and preserving his kingdom, Setsang made offerings to dkon mchog above (SGN 1); 2) in orthodox Bsm. dkon mchog is used individually and collectively of the Buddha sangs rgyas dkon mchog, the doctrine chos dkon mchog, and the body of monks dge 'dun dkon mchog - the so-called triple refuge or dkon mchog gsum/ The Buddha jewel is believed to be like a physician who prescribes a powerful medicine (the doctrine jewel) to a patient (mankind) who is attended by a skilful nurse (the jewel of the body of monks). Those who accept this treatment are said to "take refuge": dkon mchog la skyabs su 'gro ba/ to go to the three jewels for refuge (TRC 217), mi bslu gtan gyi skyabs gcig dkon mchog gsum/ the only never-failing, constant refuge is the three jewels (HTE 180). Devout Bsts. take refuge as often as four times a day (JPG 224).
Related Terms: 1) gnam bdag the Lord of heaven, reportedly used as the word for God in an early Catholic translation of the Bible; hence the modern term gnam bdag chos lugs/ Catholicism; 2) dkon mchog rin po che/ used by the Muslim Tibetan author Khache Phalu to refer to Allah: bod kyi skad du dkon mchog rin po che/,,rang re'i skad du go brda/ in Tibetan He is "the most Precious One", and in our language, "Godhar" (one of the names of Allah) (KPU 2); 3) used to refer generally to the God of the major theistic religions: chos kyi dgos pa ji yin la blta dgos pa las/,,dkon mchog gi skor dang / it is more important to look at the purpose of religion than at the details of theology [lit. God] (DLP 22).
Biblical: local spirits, pagan gods: 1) local gods nga tsho'i gdong du 'gro ba'i lha/ gods who will go before us (Acts 7:40), lha gzhan pa/ foreign gods (Acts 17:18), lha dang jo bo mang po yod/ there are many "gods" and many "lords" (1 Cor. 8:5), longs la/,,rang gi lha la bos/ get up and call on your god (Jonah 1:6); 2) powerful men: lha'i gsung skad/ the voice of a god (Acts 12:22), khong ni lha zhig go zer ro/ they said he was a god (Acts 28:6); 3) local pagan deities of the ancient world: lha mo chen mo ar ti mi/ the great goddess Artemis (Acts 19:27), rang gi lha nis rog gi lha khang / the temple of his god Nisroch (2 Ki. 19:37); 4) a highly prized value: mthu stobs nga'i lha las yin zhes sems/ men whose own strength is their god (Hab. 1:11); 5) a spirit or characteristic attitude: 'jig rten 'di'i lhas sems ldongs su bcug pa yin/ the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4).
Buddhist: 1) Orthodox Bsm. recognizes two types of gods: those who are still trapped in cyclic existence: 'jig rten lha/ , and those who have passed beyond it. Gods in cyclic existence are born, live a life of pleasure and happiness for a period, and die like the other beings trapped in the cycle of rebirth. They have great merit, but not enough to release themselves from rebirth. They may even be distracted by their heavenly pleasures and fall into a lower rebirth (KTM). However, generally rebirth as a god is considered fortunate (TRC 216): lha dang mi'i lus bzang po thob/ sometimes getting the good body of a human or a god [in rebirth] (TRC 260). Worldly gods include dbang phyug Ishvara, brgya byin/ Indra, tshangs pa/ Brahma, khyab 'jug Vishnu, 'dod pa'i dbang phyug Kamadeva, and tshogs bdag Ganesh (TRI 300). Gods outside the cycle of rebirth include the tantric meditational deities bya rgyud kyi lha/ including stong pa'i lha/ emptiness deity, sgra'i lha/ sound deity, etc. (TRI 183); 2) Buddhas and boddhisattvas are regarded as superior to the gods but are sometimes given the title lha/ as an honorific: bka' gdams lha bzhi/ the four deities of the Kadampas are thub pa/ the Buddha, spyan ras gzigs/ Chenresi or Avalokiteshvara, sgrol ma/ Dolma or Tara, mi g.yo ba/ Acala (CNG 51, TRI 13); 3) respected figures of the past are also sometimes given the title: 'phags pa lha/ Aryadeva, 3rd century disciple of Nagarjuna (TRC 25), lha tho tho ri gnyan btsan/ twenty seventh of the ancient Tibetan kings (TRC 112), lha bla ma ye shes 'od dang /,,byang chub 'od/ the guru-kings Yeshe Od and Byang Chub Od (TRC 116), sgyu ma lha mdzes/ mother of the Buddha (SGN 1); 4) the term can also be used to mean "sublime" or "excellent": lha chos/ the sublime dharma (HTE 204), hence lha chos pa/ may be used to mean "sublime dharma person" or devout (AMD) as well as "pagan" (Acts 15:23); lha rgyud/ a good lineage (KPU 33); lha ram pa/ first class Geshe degree. Gods and spirits may be ranked in eight classes, the lha srin sde brgyad/ namely: gshin rje/ Shinje (Skt. Yama) the lord of death; ma mo/ a class of terrifying female protector deities, the chief of which is dpal ldan lha mo/ Palden Lhamo, foremost goddess of Tibetan Bsm.; bdud/ the devil, demons (see evil spirit); btsan/ local mountain-dwelling demons believed capable of possessing humans and causing disease; rgyal po/ principal local gods; klu/ nagas or serpent-deities associated with water; gnod sbyin/ [Skt. yaksa] harmful spirits believed to live near mountain passes; and gza'/ malignant stars or planets which may cause disease or death (CNG 107). There are also personal gods called 'go ba'i lha/ which are believed to protect individuals. Among them are yul lha/ local god, pho lha/ the male god of a man; mo lha/ the female god of a woman; dgra lha/ the enemy-combatting god; srog lha/ the life-force god (CNG 53, TRI 51). For the place of the gods in Bst. cosmology, see world.
Cognates: 1) lha khang / temple; 2) lha bris/ thangka painting; 3) lha ma yin/ demigods (TRC 272); 4) lha sa/ Lhasa.